On Wednesday night, Fletcher came through Oakland, CA and definitely helped 2,800 fans shake out of their mid-week slump. Cari Fletcher is currently wrapping up a sold-out North American tour in support of her debut album, Girl of My Dreams, which was released in September of this year via Capitol Records.
For those who are unfamiliar with Fletcher – it is time to familiarize yourself with her. On the one hand her music is dynamic and full of energy that will surely get fans out of their seats and dance. On the other hand, her music is soft, melancholic and introspective. The range that she shows throughout her entire discography is one of a seasoned professional. It can take years and years for artists to be able to build such an eclectic catalogue but Fletcher has managed to do it in 3 EP’s and an album. Through her ability to convey the details of messy heartbreaks and learning to understand the importance of self awareness in the healing process, she managed to land herself at #29 on Billboard’s Artist 100 chart and also helped her album make a big splash into the #15 spot on the Billboard 200 Chart.
While Fletcher has a lot to be proud of so early in her career, her shows are a whole other beast in themselves. On Wednesday night, her dynamism was in full-force. She opened with “Guess We Lied…” which is the second track on Girl of My Dreams. From the second she stepped onto the stage and sang the opening lyric, the crowd was all in. They screamed every word back at her like their lives depended on it – and the energy only grew bigger and brighter from there.
Throughout the night, Fletcher played the perfect array of tunes from the various projects she has released. Newer songs like “Serial Heartbreaker” and “Her Body Is Bible” got the crowd screaming and dancing like crazy. The fans even got a taste of her breakout project, The S(ex) Tapes, with songs like “Shh…Don’t Say It” and “If I Hated You,” the booming bass and New Jersey house music-inspired drum fills absolutely shook the venue to the core. From the floor to the rafters, the whole building was shaking from the music and the energy the crowd was giving Fletcher. A cover of “If U Seek Amy” (which is originally by Britney Spears) was even thrown into the mix, and got fans hot and heavy as Fletcher moved suggestively around the stage with her microphone stand.
Dancing, singing, screaming, and joking around may have been the primary activities throughout the show (from both the crowd and Fletcher herself), there were also much more somber notes that were hit during the show. As soon as “Better Version” started, the tone in the venue completely changed. The song details the feeling one goes through after the end of the relationship – it’s about coming to the realization that you helped your former partner or friend become a better version of themself and that someone else is going to get to be with them. It is something everyone has gone through in some capacity, and it was clear that it struck a chord with many fans. There were tears, friends were holding each other, and everyone was feeling the exact same thing in that moment, which is exactly what live music is all about.
Toward the end of her set, Fletcher took a moment to explore the more introspective corners of her album. Each song details various stages of growth that Fletcher has gone through in her life. “For Cari” provided the audience with a pensive moment as it’s a letter Fletcher wrote to herself. It’s a song where she works toward keeping herself grounded by putting her life and the things she loves into perspective. While in “I Think I’m Growing?” she explicitly discusses how difficult and confusing growth is. But the self exploration portion of the set concluded with “Girl of My Dreams,” where she details how after all the heartache and sleepless nights, she made the admirable decision to choose herself over all else. The sentiment of these songs was a very important part of the set, as the songs tell a story that everyone goes through many times in their lives.
After the dancing, laughing, singing, and tears, the night came to an end with “Becky’s So Hot,” which was one of the first singles released off Girl of My Dreams. It’s a pop rock-and-roll banger that’s rooted in sheer jealousy, and the crowd was hanging on every word of the song. The night ended with her viral hit “Bitter,” which was released during the height of the COVID pandemic and took off online. It was bittersweet watching the show come to the end, but the crowd gave Fletcher everything they had during that final song. It felt as if they hadn’t just watched a high-energy 90-plus minute set, and it kept fueling Fletcher until the last possible second before she ran off stage for the night.
Fletcher as an artist is a lot of things—compassionate, painfully self-aware, empathetic—but among the emotionality of it all, she is well on her way to being crowned the “queer Taylor Swift” in the pop music space. While so much of her music is utterly heartbreaking, it was clear throughout her show that she’s found her people. Music is an emotional experience, but there was something so different about the energy and emotion at Fletcher’s show on Wednesday night. It was pure, raw emotions that were being exuded in such a beautiful way. This show was not just about a community of people coming together to enjoy a common interest; it was a celebration of life, self acceptance, and being who you are in its purest form. It was a revolution that was so special to experience in person, and it really spoke volumes to the community Fletcher has built through her music. It was beautiful, and it was one hundred-percent Cari Fletcher to the bone.
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Check out our photos from Fletcher’s show in Oakland below!
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